Pochettino urges Spurs to ‘finish the job’ at Bournemouth

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino wants his side to “finish the job” at Bournemouth to consolidate their Premier League top-four spot.

Despite losing six of their last 10 league matches, Spurs remain in third place in the standings and four points above Arsenal in fifth.

Victory at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon will almost guarantee Spurs of a fourth consecutive top-four Premier League finish with two games to spare.

Of course, if Arsenal and sixth-placed Manchester United fail to win this weekend then Spurs will qualify for Champions League football next season if they win at Bournemouth.

It will provide Pochettino’s men a welcome boost after suffering back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Ajax at home.

“Now is not a moment to talk too much, it is about delivering and finishing the job,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“It is true that now, after nearly ten months of competing, it is so tough and difficult but not only for us, for all the teams.

“But now is not to talk, it is about being ready to compete in the best way. We know very well that on Saturday, we have a very important game. We need to go step-by-step and be focused in the game that we need to play.”

Pochettino added: “I think all the staff know that this is a key moment of the season. To arrive here is fantastic but now it is about these last steps which are the most difficult. But we are going to try, we need to move on and to try on Saturday to win.

“It is going to be a tough game against Bournemouth but again, on Wednesday, we have a great chance to be in the final.

“Ajax have some advantage now and everyone says that they are the big favourite, but we are going to try and play, it is 90 minutes and we will try.

“It is going to be a shame if we don’t finish the season in a very good way this season after all that has happened.”

After coming off early against Ajax, Jan Vertonghen is not expected to feature for Spurs this afternoon. On the other hand, Pochettino will likely make a last-minute decision on Erik Lamela.